Hey Everybody!
It's my birthday today, so that makes it the Splintered Board podcast's anniversary too.
I couldn't have gotten this far without all of my subscribers, so this one's for all of you!
Thanks for everything, and I hope to make the next year even better.

-Rick

Played: 507 | Download | Duration: 00:26:59

        

A few weeks ago my in-laws were visiting from St. Louis. 
Whenever my in-laws visit, it means work.  Not just clean-out-the-garage type
work.  More like
let’s-check-every-single-shingle-on-the-roof-then-get-in-the-attic-and-check-every-square-inch-of-insulation-then-clean-out-the-basement-then-dethatch-the-lawn-then… 
You get the picture.

Anyway, so my Father-In-Law was visiting and on some previous
visits he had been in our small storage area of the basement.  It’s
crammed with stuff since both my wife and I are packrats.  Beyond the storage
area are the furnace, water heater and sump pump.  Beyond those is the crawl
space.  The crawl space is roughly 4.5’ off the ground, and measures
roughly 12’ wide, 3.5’ high and 18.5’ deep.

My father-in-law’s idea was to build a floor for the
crawl ...<< MORE >>

A few lathe tips for Woodworkers Safety Week 2009 ...<< MORE >>

Episode 36 - Not a whole lot going on

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Played: 584 | Download | Duration: 00:04:54

I just got a new/old Hollow Chisel Mortiser. 

I thought I'd share that with you all!

        

Played: 346 | Download | Duration: 00:11:42

My first video podcast episode!  Part 2 anyway.
I show a salvaged tree stump that I want to eventually carve a chair from.
I show my improvised bench, shop and everything I’ve been talking about for months.

        

My first video podcast episode!  Part 1 anyway.
I show a salvaged tree stump that I want to eventually carve a chair from.
I show my improvised bench, shop and everything I’ve been talking about for months. ...<< MORE >>

I had a great experience at Woodcraft yesterday!  So great that I feel I have to blog about it. 

Yesterday was a little weird for me, as it didn't fit the same tired schedule of get up, go to work, go home, so let me set the scene for you.  Yesterday I received a phone call from Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk, from Woodcraft magazine, but since I was stuck in meetings I didn't get a chance to talk to him.  I'll be calling him back today, and hopefully you'll be hearing much more about and from him on The Sawdust Chronicles in the future. Joe's message put me in a great mood to leave work early even though I was leaving to go to the police department to get my car inspected because a local meter-maid cop had a bug up their butt last week.

Anyway, I left work early and after wasting 30 minutes at the police department, I decided to stop at Woodcraft on the way home.  Yup, it was actually on the way!  I currently don't have any pressing needs for specific tools, but I just like looking around to see what the local store has to offer.  I especially like looking through the buck-a-board table.

After perusing the store and not seeing anything that really screamed out at me to buy it, I made my way to the buck-a-board table.  I immediately saw two turning blanks of Padauk!  I couldn't believe it!  I snagged them right away.  I also picked up a severely checked block of zebrawood and 12" 6/4 piece of walnut with a nice grain pattern.  I made my way to the counter expecting to walk out with a few pieces of small stock and spending less than $5.  Boy was I in for a surprise.

Joe, the sales associate who several months ago gave me an application and really wanted me to apply for a position at the store, didn't recognize me, but remarked that I was lucky to have seen the Padauk on the buck-a-board table.  He said it was probably their mistake, but he'd let me have it.

I thanked him and as I pushed $5 towards him I told him that I call the store a few times a month to see if they've got new cut-offs out on the buck-a-board table.  He froze.  He pushed my $5 back towards me and told me to follow him.  Joe then walked me into the back room toward the GIGANTIC triple thick corrugated box full of cutoffs.  Joe said that the box had just come in that day and hadn't been sorted out yet.  He said he was giving me first crack at it all. 

I was like a kid in a candy store!  I quickly picked up a cardboard box and started filling it with zebrawood, mahogany, bubinga, purple heart and a little walnut.  Then as I was finishing up, I started to back away and saw something shine at me from the back of the box.  I looked at it from a few different angles and saw that it must be some kind of figured wood. 

I grabbed it and my jaw dropped!  This was a 24"x2"x2" blank of deeply figured reddish brown Bubinga!  And there was its brother sitting right under it!  Holy Smokes!  I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed them both and acted normal as I took the whole load back to the counter.

To my disappointment Joe couldn't let me have the Bubinga blanks, but we had a great conversation about them.  Joe said the store could probably get anywhere from $20-$60 for them depending on how they cut and sold them, so letting me walk out paying $2 for them would probably land Joe in a bit of trouble.  Knowing that I don't currently possess the talent to do those pieces justice, I had to let them go and didn't plead or haggle with Joe at all.

All in all, I had a great time , as usual, visiting Woodcraft yesterday!

        

It's taken almost a month, but I'm going to try and get this out one last time.  GoDaddy has been less than helpful with this episode...  And thanks to GoDaddy, I had to remove several more episodes so I could upload this one. 

Because of all of the trouble with GoDaddy, and even though I still have over a year of service paid for, I'll soon be switching to another provider (or providers) that will allow me to do what I want with my podcast page and not charge me an arm and a leg for it! 

Take THAT GoDaddy!!! ...<< MORE >>

Happy Holidays to all!!!

Hey everyone!  In this episode I update you (in long form) on the birth of Mason Donald Betz-Waters!
Also included are updates on the construction of some Christmas presents, the changing table, the WoodRat videos, and a new segment of the Splintered Board Podcast in the future.

Special thanks to Rubber Band Banjo for the music in this episode.
...<< MORE >>